~ indulge ~

 

Have been wanting to go to this new(ish) Hobart restaurant since it opened late last year.

And on Saturday night we finally got the chance - babysitter arranged (who was prepared to stay late should we run into queue problems - they don't take reservations so sometimes the wait is quite long), a great reason to celebrate (a pre-50 birthday) and some good friends.

And the rave reviews are all on the money.

It was fabulous.  Delicious and sexy.  Innovative and fun.  

Still dreaming about some of the yummy food.

We did have to wait - we slipped round to the New Sydney and had a couple of G+Ts (girls) and pints (boys) and in no time at all the phone rang to tell us our table was available.  Well...almost...the group leaving did take a while finishing off their wines and desserts and I don't blame them at all.  The space itself is fantastic - dark wooded long refectory-style tables, fab lights, tables, open kitchen...all very enticing.  We argued a bit over whether it was more Sydney or Melbourne....I like to think its perfectly (new) Hobart.

We sat down, chose one of nearly everything to share and got stuck into some French wine (it was nearly all French, organic and unknown to us).  What followed was a total treat - absolutely beautifully presented food that tasted amazing served by discreetly professional wait staff.  We loved the steamed oysters with apple vinegar, garlic and spring onion (they made us go all master-cheffy about complex flavours).  The glazed octopus with persimmon puree and mustard seasoning was divine (we did fight a little about who finished that off), the sashimi fresh and perfectly matched with green almond vinegar.  My favourite was a toss up between the lamb ribs (pepper, lemon and coriander seed dressing and finger-licking good!) and the carrots (I know - a dish of carrots) - heirloom carrots that were malt-glazed with almond cream, grains and seeds - I'd go back just for them.  We did have desserts and a totally fabulous sticky but the details are a little blurred...

 

My food photos do no justice to the deliciousness of it all - too dark and the iphone and my gin-shaky hands weren't up to it.  Will just have to go back for lunch and take the good camera. 

Indulgent - yes.  Worth it - yes.  

We'll be back.  Soon.


♥

 

~ they hung garlands of pink and declared it was time to start thinking of spring ~

Sunshine (that would be post the thickest frost of the year.  A frost which made me resort to scraping the windscreen with my credit card.  I may have also resorted to a few choice words.  They didn't help as much as the credit card.)

Skipping to school (because Princess G felt "all skippy" inside.  As you do when you're six). 

 

 And new blossoms appearing every day

Life is sweet

♥

~ student free and fancy free ~

It was a student-free day today

(I am philosophically opposed to these so if you're a teacher stop reading now.  I really think that teachers should be able to complete their professional learning in a dedicated week either before school starts or in one of their other holiday times. Do I need to point out now just how many weeks of paid holidays teachers get??!!  This may well be pure jealousy - my paid job was one with no paid holidays, no sick pay and we had to do all our professional learning in our own time.  Or it may just be that I believe they are paid to teach and we only get 40 weeks or so of school term and that my children benefit from routine at school)

Anyway....

We went to the beach.  In the sunshine.  On a wintry day.  We collected shells.  We wandered.

We shared icecreams, laughs and made some lovely memories.

 

Maybe I am in favour of student-free days after all.

♥

~started badly, ended up ok~

There's been lots not to like as we head out in the mornings this week - frosted up windows, icy roads...and then, this morning as we were rushing out,  this...

and not just my wing mirror - the Doc's as well (and the neighbours)

Grrrrr....

No, not the end of the world and no one was hurt (thank goodness).  

But it will end up costing us $700+ in insurance excess.  

Its the inconvenience,  the sheer bloody mindedness of it that gets me.

I loathe senseless, violent idiotic behaviour.

End of rant

Things slowly got better. 

I had a coffee alone.

I got an email saying I won a prize for my 6 word story over at this lovely blog.

I had another coffee (any day that's a 2 coffee day is ok in my books)

And we head off tomorrow for a girl's weekend which will be full of chat, laughs and bubbles (and more coffee)

♥

~ house of the book ~

We love books.  We love libraries.  
We have "too many" books (still debating whether this is, in fact, possible).  We certainly have more books than shelves.  
We love to read.  Some of us live to read.

It's one of our "things"

I can't go to sleep without reading something.  Lady L is usually to be found curled up reading one of the 5 or 6 books she has on the go.  Princess G has just got her chapter book "licence" and HRH Little Lord J asks for books more than ABC2!  The Doc is so caught up with work reading that he's lapsing a bit but get him on holiday....

So here's a quick look at what we're reading.

 HRH LL J (2 and quite a bit now) reads anything.  You can tell Peepo is a favourite from the mending down the spine but the numbers and robots get a good go too - and anything by Pamela Allen.

 I've been waiting for this for soooo long (its the final installment of the Earth's Children saga by Jean M Auel).  Read the first one about 25 years ago.  This one is a huge disappointment.  I'll make it to the end but I'm skipping lots (and I never do that).

 The Doc is reading for work.....yawn

 Lady L (8) has just raced through all the Harry Potter books and loved them to bits.  This was the choice from school library this week. ??? We made the Lemon Delicious.  It made her happy.

 Princess G (6) has just graduated to chapter books.  She is loving that she is big enough to read these on her own.  I think the Moody part of this is right up her alley (!)

And the beautiful rainbows I made when we moved all the furniture just recently.

What are you reading and loving?

♥

~ winter ~

Already it feels like a long, cold winter here on our little island.

Snow, sleet, icy winds, drenching rain....

Winter is when I remember to take my Vitamin D, I think fond thoughts of our life in sunnier WA where it felt like I never wore socks (let alone purple ugg boots) and I plan holidays.

I read books, I make soup and I miss my garden...so sodden, muddy and dull.

Today though the sun made its way through the felted grey clouds and I went for a wander.

I pruned a couple of roses, pulled out some stinky onion weed and I found treasures.

 ~the first little grape hyacinths (with their frilly bloomers)

 ~hellebores thriving in the back corner where we quickly thrust them all as the builders moved in

~ the last of the snow drops

~climate change jonquils (surely they're getting earlier)

And I dream about spring.

♥

~ solving problems ~

In a world where there is so much (too much) to worry over (think climate change, poverty, school closures,..) its sometimes nice to have a problem that is actually solvable.

For weeks I have been looking for a short black necklace.  

Looked here, looked there...felt I'd looked just everywhere.  Then I started looking on-line (I am the first to admit I have a bit of a problem with on-line shopping.  I fill baskets at several shops and then just navigate away.  I buy things I don't need.  I buy things no-one needs.  But I digress...) and ended up at the Elk site (as you do).  A couple of clicks (and a charcoal necklace I didn't know I needed) later and problem solved.

Wardrobe disaster averted and a small burst of pleasure at actually being able to "sort" something.

Hurray.

And of course it means more exciting mail - and so beautifully presented too.

  (The balloon necklace was a gift at Christmas - so much more photogenic than my slightly boring but oh! so necessary black one.  I do love Elk).

Any first world problems at your place?  Any new purchases?

♥

~ feeling lucky ~

A fabulous surprise in the post today;

This

And this

As part of a prize I was lucky enough to win over at this beautiful blog.  Now one of my lovely friends will get lucky too as I pass one along.

Luck - it's a funny concept.  In my family I'm known as the lucky parker (I "always" seem to get a spot just outside where we're going) but I think that's more a combination of optimism and laziness.  No major raffles prizes, no tattslotto wins...but generally I feel I'm very lucky (to be born in Australia, to have met my husband, to have my beautiful family).  Is that circumstance, fate or luck?? Are they just different facets of the same thing?  Is life truly so random?

My brother used to maintain that everyone only had a certain quota of luck - he wouldn't buy raffle tickets or enter competitions with smaller prizes - - - only the ones with cars or a million dollars or so for him.  He's still waiting to hit the jackpot.... and I'm collecting magnets, buttons and other little delights along the way.

Some people seem to attract disaster/drama.  Are they just unlucky?  Are they doing something wrong?  Is it a matter of attitude?  Is it possible to change your luck through behaviour or attitude?

Are you a lucky duck?  Do you carry a talisman? Knock on wood?  Rub shoulders with winners? 

Do tell...

♥

~ enjoy~

I love a little celebration.

 

Even better with bubbles.

 And we've had lots to celebrate this week;

 ~ Firstly the government reversed their terrible policy about school closures and our fantastic little school is safe until at least the end of 2012 (and if considered again will be subject to a "proper" consultation process).  It seems as though "they" do listen sometimes.  What a great victory for people power.  And for communities that are passionate about their children and their education.

~ We heard that a friend has had a terribly long and painful legal battle end very favourably.

~ We've had lovely visitors from interstate and overseas.

~ And the first daffodils of the year.  

Worth some Jansz I think

♥

~ seeking order ~

My life has descended into chaos in the last 2 weeks

The government's threat to close our school has completely taken over my life and I'm eating, breathing and not-sleeping school statistics and government speak gobbledygook.  

My phone does not stop ringing and every time I turn around my inbox ( all 3 accounts) is overflowing again.  Everyone wants a piece of me (no, it's not all about me - but it feels a bit that way).  

I feel overwhelmed and out of control. 

It's all I can think about, talk about...

And then I looked at the shots on my camera and there were these;

 ordered....

 

boxed....

contained....

I like that.

I need more of it.

Maybe in a fortnight.

  

♥